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Readers React to Unemployment’s Revolving Door

When you lose your job, suddenly nothing feels secure. That was one of the most common themes among more than 700 comments on Annie Lowrey’s article “Caught in a Revolving Door of Unemployment” last weekend. Jenner Barrington-Ward, the subject of the article, found herself homeless after decades of employment. Two readers shared their own stories of homelessness.

“My whole life is in storage, and I fear letting go of all of it will strip me of a good part of my identity,” Debbie in New York wrote.

“After 35 years-plus of management/corporate positions, I find myself in retail working with 20-somethings,” she said, adding that she earns ” 65 to 75 percent less than what I formerly earned.” After moving four times in two years and declaring bankruptcy, “I don’t know who I am anymore,” she added. “All my friends are married and settled, and this feels like a nightmare from which I cannot wake up.”

Few readers, many approaching retirement age, expressed confidence in their own job security. The comments are full of sympathy for the unemployed, along with pleas for additional support.

“Someone needs to step up and offer her security for at least six months, not the impersonal state or government, some person!” David S. wrote. “I have been paying for a friend’s phone just so he could have a stable telephone while he looks for a job. I have bought monthly MetroCards for him so he did not have to walk to job interviews. It’s not just me doing for him — it’s a group of us.”

Many of the unemployed wrote that the support of loved ones kept them going. “If it weren’t for my husband, I would be in exactly the same boat,” Beth Rogers of Bethesda, Md., wrote. “Just praying that he doesn’t fire me.”

Other ways readers said they were surviving included odd jobs, borrowing money and going back to school at 60. A few evangelized about entrepreneurship, but others warned it’s not always a cure-all: Jen D. in New Jersey said her brother “was laid off early on in the Great Recession and thought his I.T. skills would be valued by employers,” adding: “All employers saw was an older guy who had been out of work a while. When he died, he had an old car to his name and over $30,000 in debt that he had no way to pay. He had even tried to start a business, but with no marketing background, it failed miserably.”

Not everyone feels hopeless. Margary Fieldman in Boston said she was laid off from an administrative position at the same employer as Ms. Barrington-Ward in 2011 and was given eight weeks’ notice and help finding another position elsewhere — and there were plenty of options.

Another reader complained of problems filling positions for warehouse workers, and invited anyone to apply: “Almost anyone can do this job, there is no lifting involved. … A large portion of the new hires quit after the third day, once they realize what the job is.”

Some readers threw their hats in, but most were skeptical of $13.50 as a living wage, or that older, less mobile individuals could do the work. Another reader questioned whether she or Ms. Barrington-Ward would be eligible: “Because I know people who have had this woman’s experience, including myself, I also know that those types of warehouse jobs, in Massachusetts, tend NOT to hire black people, or anyone with a college degree.”

Many readers cited age, and the higher salary requirements and insurance costs that often come with it, as a particular barrier in finding work. A common enemy in the comments was incompetent human resources departments, and some readers suggested using social networks to circumvent them.

A few comments asked what legitimate reason an employer could have for turning down an applicant for being unemployed. But one reader had a couple of ideas:

“The last person any employer wants on their payroll is someone … who might be collecting unemployment benefits for a significant period of time at some future date,” wrote Mike Schumann of St. Paul. “When a person has been collecting unemployment for an extended period, it sends a message to potential employers that the person is not aggressive and hustling to resolve their personal situation.”

The consequences of unemployment can be far-reaching. And this recession has seen a higher-than-usual increase in suicides. Many commenters reported that they had lost or feared losing loved ones. Others face their own struggle with depression.

After ending a 20-year marriage, Sarah in Connecticut said she was “now staying in a friend’s place, but that can’t go on forever.”

“I am so far in debt, part of me wants to cash out my Roth and pay off the debt, then end it all,” she wrote. “I see no other alternative. I used to be a positive person with an incredibly optimistic attitude but that ship has sailed. That’s the most depressing part of all this — it just continues to get worse every single passing day. When you lose hope … what more is there?”

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